Called Unto Holiness # 5

Oneness With Christ

The Baptism with the Spirit

Following Calvary came Pentecost. The believers in that upper room were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and the Church, the Body of Christ, was formed. Every believer came into oneness with Christ and with one another through that baptism. The foundation of fullness of life in Christ Jesus was opened, and each one drank and was filled. From that day on down through the centuries every person who has put faith in the blood of the Saviour has been baptized by the Holy Spirit into that one Body. He has been made one with Christ, and the fullness of Christ's life has been made his potentially.

It is this Spirit baptism that sanctifies. It separates us  unto Christ, the Church, and the Spirit. It sets aside everything unto Christ. It puts Christ as the life of our life and the Lord of our life, and makes the Christian Christ-conformed and Christ-controlled.

As a Christian are you wholly set apart unto Christ? Are you wholly in His possession, under His control, and for His use? Will you frankly face this question today?

"Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27).

Have you given even standing room to the devil in your life? If so, will you deliberately take it back now and yield that place to Christ?

"Be not conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2).

Is you life at any point or in any phase conformed to the world? If you find any such conformity, will you acknowledge it and come right out in complete separation at any cost?

"Put off ... the old man. Put on the new man" (Ephesians 4:22, 24).

Will you honestly examine your life to see if you are under the dominion of the flesh at any  known point? If so, will you deliberately put off the old man and put on the new man?

The question has been put on the negative side; let it now be put positively. Is Christ the source of everything in your life as far as yo know? Is everything "from" Him? Is He the center of your life? Is everything "in" Him? Is He the goal of your life? Is everything "for" Him? That is the standard. Do not say that it is too high. I did not set such a standard for the Christian's life. The Lord Jesus did it. But are not we Christians unutterably selfish if we want to get everything from Him for time and for eternity, and then give as little back to Him as we can? Are we willing to take this standard - Christ, the source of everything; Christ the center of everything; Christ, the goal of everything - for our life?

That will cause us some heart-searching. We shall not get the blessing we want in any easy way. There is no easy road to holiness. Are we willing to pay the price that we may have the prize? Christ is something to you, but is He "everything"?

~Ruth Paxson~

(continued with # 6)